Specific cancer cell ablation system activated by site-specific recombination
Innovative Products and Technologies
Technology Offer
Specific cancer cell ablation system activated by site-specific recombination
- RAMOT at Tel Aviv University Ltd.
- From Israel
- Responsive
- Innovative Products and Technologies
Summary of the technology
Conventional chemo- or gene therapy is not a cure for most types of solid tumors because it is limited by the lack of efficient agents and their selective delivery in the tumor. Site-specific recombinases of microorganisms and phages have become an important tool for gene manipulations in mammalian cells as well as for gene therapy. They are used for the site specific gene insertions, excisions and the regulation of gene expression in mammalian cells and in organisms. The Integrase (Int) protein of coliphage HK022 is one of these recombinases.
The objective of this proposal is the design and using a modular nanoparticle on the base of a DNA substrate that induces the Int recombinase specifically in cancer cells followed by the expression of a toxin that causes cancer cell ablation. Success will add a non viral novel nano-approach to human cancer therapy
Project ID : 10-2013-551
Details of the Technology Offer
THE NEED
Lung cancer has been the most common cancer in the world for several decades. The disease remains as the most common cancer in men worldwide (1.2 million, 16.7% of the total). Even with todays most advanced drugs, the 5-year survival rates remain as low as 4% for those diagnosed at a distant metastatic stage, and just above 50% for those diagnosed at an early localized stage. With the advent of modern diagnostic tools such as low dose CT, it is expected that more patients will be diagnosed at early stages. Thus, there remains a serious unmet need and challenge to bring effective means to successfully fight this disease at an early stage.
TECHNOLOGY
We have developed a new cancer gene therapy technology for specific cancer cells ablation. It is based on a site-specific recombination reaction that will activate the expression of Diphtheria toxin A (DTA) specifically in cancerous cells without affecting neighboring normal cell.
ADVANTAGES
Our binary anti-cancer system belongs to the toxin gene delivery approach but has the obvious advantages compared to conventional toxin delivery approaches:
• in vitro and in vivo is more restrictive and efficient in compare to conventional approach
• Does not trigger any immune response.
• Unlike other systems using DNA vectors for mammalian gene manipulations ours is viral-free.
PATENTS
Patent Pending